◎ Text/Nan Cunhui
In recent years, with the sustained economic growth and the improvement of national income, China has gradually become a big country in high-end consumer goods market from a big country in general consumer goods market.
"Take a Mercedes-Benz and drive a BMW" used to be a buzzword in China society, which vividly expressed the initial understanding of wealthy China people about high-end cars and intuitively reflected the high recognition of German-made high-end industrial products and consumer goods by China consumers.
Over the years, German enterprises and institutions have exported products and services in industries, large-scale transportation equipment, civil environmental protection, household goods, finance, retail and other fields to China. A large number of German enterprises have taken root in China. With advanced technology and management, they have occupied the high-end industrial chains of many industries, and gained huge market share and rich profit returns.
According to dihk's survey dihk 2007, as of June 2007 1 1, German enterprises have approved more than 5,800 investment projects in China, and more than 2,500 wholly-owned and joint ventures have been established, with the actual investment in China totaling about US$ 65.438+0.604 billion. A recent survey of German-funded enterprises in China by the Chamber of Commerce in China, Germany, shows that thanks to the favorable policy environment in China and the strong vitality of China's economy, most German enterprises have successfully invested in China and achieved their business objectives, and new investment projects can break even in only two to four years. More than 90% German-funded enterprises plan to expand their business scale in China in the short or medium term, and more than 40% German-funded enterprises plan to open new subsidiaries in China.
Over the past 30 years of reform and opening-up, China enterprises have gradually become a manufacturing power through introduction, learning, digestion, absorption and re-innovation, forming a complete industrial system. With the participation of many small and medium-sized enterprises, the distinctive manufacturing bases, represented by the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, have begun to take shape and formed certain industrial supporting capabilities, which are basically at the low end of the industrial value chain, providing high-quality and low-cost products for the global market. "Made in China" has become an indispensable part of people's lives in all countries. Small and medium-sized enterprises in China have made great contributions to the improvement of people's quality of life in all countries, including Germany.
According to statistics, the value of final products and services created by small and medium-sized enterprises in China accounts for 60% of gross domestic product (GDP), providing more than 75% of urban employment and more than 50% of total tax revenue; Small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany provide 70% of jobs and 80% of vocational training in Germany, creating 45% of the gross national product. In China, 65% of patents, 75% of technological innovation and 80% of new product development are completed by small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, small and medium-sized enterprises are not only the main body and foundation of Sino-German economy, but also the main participants in economic cooperation between the two countries.
China and Germany are highly complementary in economy and technology. As we all know, China is not only the largest potential consumer market in the world, but also one of the largest industrial products markets in the world. In the past 10 years (1997-2007), the compound annual growth rate of fixed assets investment in China reached 18.6%. According to the forecast of China Statistics Bureau in 2006, the average annual growth rate of China's GDP will remain above 7% in the next three five-year plans. By 2020, the total GDP will exceed 60 trillion yuan, and the per capita GDP will exceed 40,000 yuan, equivalent to more than 5,500 US dollars per capita, achieving (or exceeding) the strategic goal of quadrupling the per capita GDP in 2020 compared with 2000 proposed by the China government. In the next fifteen years, the contribution rate of capital accumulation to China's GDP growth will be above 50%, which will be followed by the rapid growth of total factor productivity. It is estimated that the contribution rate will exceed 40% during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period.
Therefore, the China market will maintain a strong demand for industrial products for a long time to come. The rapid development of China's economy will continue to be an important driving force for regional and even global economic development, which is a historic opportunity for enterprises from all countries, including Germany. The upcoming Beijing Olympic Games and the 20 10 Shanghai World Expo will provide good opportunities for enterprises from all countries, including German SMEs, to continue to explore the China market. Under this historical condition, Sino-German SMEs have broad prospects for cooperation.
As far as Sino-German SME cooperation is concerned, I think it can be considered from the following three aspects:
I. International trade
In recent years, Sino-German trade has developed well. China is Germany's largest trading partner in Asia and Germany is China's largest trading partner in Europe. The trade volume between the two countries accounts for one-third of the trade volume between China and the 27 member States of the European Union. According to the statistics of the German Federal Statistical Office, the bilateral trade volume reached 77.286 billion euros +0- 1 1 in June 2007, an increase of 15% over 2006. The export commodity structure of the two sides remained basically stable, the legal framework of trade cooperation between the two countries was gradually improved, and the cooperation mechanism was relatively sound.
Trade cooperation has become an important part of Sino-German relations and a driving factor for the healthy economic development of the two countries. During the development of heavy chemical industry, rail transit, advanced manufacturing, energy saving and emission reduction, new energy, water treatment and environmental protection in China, high-tech products such as machinery and equipment, power electronics, precision instruments, automation devices and new materials produced by German small and medium-sized enterprises have broad application markets. China's small and medium-sized enterprises, on the basis of paying huge resources and human costs, produce all kinds of high-cost industrial products and consumer goods, which will continue to be an important basis for the German people's high welfare life.
At the same time, we also noticed that the product structure exported by China enterprises to Germany is also undergoing some noteworthy changes. According to the statistical report recently published by the German Federal Statistical Office, the proportion of high value-added products imported from China in Germany during 2000-2007 showed an upward trend. For example, the proportion of office equipment, computer equipment and spare parts increased from 10.4% in 2000 to 18.6% in 2007, and the proportion of TV sets, radios and other electronic products increased from 6544. However, the import proportion of furniture, toys, decorations and other commodities with relatively low added value decreased from11%to 9.7%, and that of textiles and clothing decreased from 1 1.5% to 9.7%. The structural changes of China's exports to Germany are consistent with the proposal of deepening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries put forward by German leaders during their visit to Germany in 2005.
As we all know, China is a country with relatively poor per capita resources and weak environmental carrying capacity. The population, resources and environment constraints faced by China determine that only by changing the extensive growth mode and building a resource-saving industrial structure on the basis of technological progress can China achieve sustainable economic and social development. The evolution of China's export commodity structure is largely attributed to the efforts of the China government to adjust the industrial structure.
While continuing to maintain bilateral trade, we will steadily increase the depth, breadth, frequency and quantity of bilateral trade and increase the proportion of technology and services in bilateral trade.
Second, industrial integration.
Germany is a manufacturing power in the world, and it is also a manufacturing power. If "Made in Germany" promotes the technological progress of China's industry, then the adjustment of China's industrial structure and the further contribution of "Made in China" to Germany are that with the gradual improvement of the technical level of China products entering the German market, it will directly promote the technological innovation and industrial transformation of German enterprises, which is conducive to the continuous improvement of German enterprises' global competitiveness.
The comparative advantages of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in China and Germany are obviously different and complementary. Specifically, the advantages of German SMEs' products are leading technology, professional design, high quality, exquisite workmanship, reliability and durability, and strong competitiveness in professional applications. The products of small and medium-sized enterprises in China win with applicability, universality and high cost performance, and are mainly positioned in the mass economy market.
In the era of economic globalization, the different industrial advantages of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the two countries can be connected with each other and complement each other. Small and medium-sized enterprises in the two countries should strengthen the division of labor and cooperation within the industry, and establish a complementary and win-win industrial cooperation model around their respective comparative advantages. For example, in the field of professional equipment where German enterprises have traditional advantages, more non-core parts produced by China enterprises can be used through OEM and ODM, so as to reduce manufacturing costs, improve production efficiency and further enhance market competitiveness while maintaining product performance and quality; In the field of standardized products where German enterprises are relatively inferior, we can cooperate with China manufacturers through technology transfer, authorized production and joint venture to form a comprehensive competitive advantage and fill the market vacancy. We believe that German technology research and development, industrial design, production technology and quality management system, combined with China's good industrial base and high-quality and low-cost human resources, can form a global manufacturing competitive advantage and become a positive force to promote world economic development.
China's small and medium-sized enterprises should actively broaden their horizons, innovate the international operation mode, change the "island chemical plant" mode in which raw materials are imported from abroad, production and processing are carried out at home, and products are sold abroad, actively go out and set up R&D institutions and production bases, and actively achieve industrial convergence with foreign enterprises, especially German small and medium-sized enterprises, so as to achieve mutually beneficial development.
Third, two-way investment.
The establishment and development of China's modern industry, to a great extent, draws lessons from the industrialization experience of Europe, especially Germany, which makes the economies of China and Germany have certain interoperability in industrial structure and business philosophy, thus providing a great space for cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, including small and medium-sized enterprises, at the capital level.
At present, the enthusiasm of German enterprises for investing in China continues to rise. According to dihk's survey of 8,000 German industrial enterprises, the German foreign investment report in 2008 shows that China is the most popular investment destination for German enterprises outside the EU, and about 32% of German enterprises regard China as the first choice. For large German enterprises with more than 65,438+0,000 overseas employees, China is the preferred investment destination outside the EU. 4 1% German SMEs with 200-999 overseas employees plan to invest in China this year.
Generally speaking, German enterprises' investment in China has optimized the regional layout of their industries, and China has become the most profitable and fastest-growing regional market for many German enterprises. In addition, the survey results of dihk also show that the domestic business performance and employee growth rate of German enterprises investing in China and other foreign countries are obviously higher than the domestic average, which indicates that foreign investment has greatly promoted the domestic economic growth and employment in Germany and enhanced the international competitiveness of German enterprises.
Comparatively speaking, German enterprises still have great potential to invest in China. With the gradual improvement of the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises, China capital should go abroad, invest abroad and participate in international cooperation and division of labor at a deeper level. Germany has become one of the most valuable destination countries for German enterprises to invest in Europe due to the differences and complementarities of economic resources endowments between Germany and China. China manufacturers can establish business entities in Germany through newly established wholly-owned enterprises or joint ventures and cooperation with local enterprises, and make full use of local advantages in scientific research, technology, industrial design, industrial standards, quality certification, vocational training and technical personnel to establish business entities facing the whole European, Middle Eastern, African and even global markets.
However, the cooperation between enterprises can not be separated from the support and promotion of the government and industry organizations. At present, our greatest wishes are: first, we hope that the Chinese and German governments will actively promote the exchanges between chambers of commerce and industry associations in the two countries and provide more effective intermediary services for the contacts and business exchanges between enterprises in the two countries; Second, I hope that China will relax the relevant regulations on market access, provide convenience for German products to enter the German market, and create a better environment for German enterprises to invest in Germany.
We believe that as long as we have a positive attitude and a broad mind. The prospect of Sino-German SME cooperation will be more brilliant, and Sino-German SMEs will certainly make greater contributions to promoting the economic prosperity of the two countries.